Various articles, including biomedical devices, are formed of organosilicon-containing materials. One class of organosilicon materials useful for biomedical devices, such as soft contact lenses, is silicone-containing hydrogel materials. A hydrogel is a hydrated, cross-linked polymeric system that contains water in an equilibrium state. Hydrogel contact lenses offer relatively high oxygen permeability as well as desirable biocompatibility and comfort. The inclusion of a silicone-containing material in the hydrogel formulation generally provides higher oxygen permeability, since silicone based materials have higher oxygen permeability than water.
Another class of organosilicon materials is rigid, gas permeable materials used for hard contact lenses. Such materials are generally formed of silicone or fluorosilicone copolymers. These materials are oxygen permeable, and more rigid than the materials used for soft contact lenses.
Organosilicon-containing materials useful for biomedical devices, including contact lenses, are disclosed in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,267 (Ellis et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,461 (Lai et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,215 (Bambury et al.).
The present invention provides novel organosilicon-containing materials which are useful in articles such as biomedical devices, including contact lenses.